


Morning after Big Pit with the Evanses

by alley_oops, jennandanica



Series: Citadel: Luke Evans and Alex Skarsgard [143]
Category: Actor RPF, Citadel (Journalfen RPG), True Blood RPF
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-26
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2019-04-08 11:29:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14104410
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alley_oops/pseuds/alley_oops, https://archiveofourown.org/users/jennandanica/pseuds/jennandanica





	Morning after Big Pit with the Evanses

[backdated to early 2014, the day after Alex had a [long painful conversation with Luke's father](http://alex-skarsgard.dreamwidth.org/3735.html)]

"Don't get me wrong," Luke says as he carefully packs his bag with the last of his clothes and toiletries. "I really want to see my nana and gransha but I cannot _wait_ to get out of here." And maybe he should feel bad saying that, for wanting to get away from his mum and dad, but there's been little enjoyment this trip and far too much stress, everyone working on stepping just right, scared of setting each other off.

"Maybe next time, we should we do what we did for our wedding," Alex suggests from the vanity, where he's carefully drying off his toothbrush before stowing it with his shaving kit. "Make plans at a resort somewhere, and then go meet your grandparents to fly with them to wherever we decide." He's got such a soft spot for Nana and Gransha; like hell he's not going to work to keep them in Luke's life.

"That sounds like a great idea," Luke says, quickly running through in his head all the places they could take his grandparents. Places that wouldn't be too far for them to travel. "They'd like that. Especially in the winter. It's so gloomy at that time of year and with my gransha's arthritis..." He smiles at Alex. "What about your family though? They won't get jealous we're whisking my grandparents away on exotic vacations?"

Alex laughs and zips up his carry-on, setting it on the bed. He pulls Luke in close for a kiss. "I can't even remember the last time my family went on holiday together. Actually, it was probably for our wedding."

Luke grins, wrapping his arms around Alex's neck. "As long as you're sure then," he says, smile fading as the phone rings. "Ugh. I'll get that." They've probably got the wrong room anyway. He pulls away to answer it. "Yes? That's me." He frowns a little. "Does she want to come up? Okay. I'll be down." He sighs and hangs up.  "My mum's downstairs."

"...Oh." Perplexed, Alex simply studies Luke's face for clues; but after a long moment, he still hasn't found any. "Luke?"

"I don't know but I'm assuming it's not good," Luke says, trying not to give in to the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach. "I'll be back as soon as I can be. We need to leave in half an hour anyway."

"Okay." Before Alex lets him leave, though, he tangles his hands in Luke's hair and kisses him again, pouring passion into the connection between them. Then he gently releases his husband. "I'll be here."

"Thanks." Luke blows out a breath and then heads downstairs. He finds his mum standing in the doorway to the pub and the moment he sees her face he knows, his stomach churning hard. "Hey," he says softly, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her in close, a kiss pressed to the top of her head as she starts crying against his chest. "It's okay. I know, or at least I think I have a pretty good idea already."

Yvonne cries even harder. "I'm so sorry," she whispers, the words smeared across his shirt, her tears soaking through the fabric.

Fuck. The receptionist and the waitstaff are watching them and Luke keeps his arm wrapped around her but walks her through the pub, towards the back. "Let's go in the garden," he says, leading her outside and to the nearest picnic bench. "What happened?"

Yvonne sits back, rummaging in her purse for a tissue and dabbing at her eyes. "Your dad. He was really unhappy about the idea of meeting Alex's parents, worried about the elders and all, and I made the mistake of telling him about the baby, about how we'd need to make a decision because I thought..."

 _He'd choose me over the church._ "I know," he says again, not surprised at all, and wondering how his mum could be.

Yvonne glances at Luke, almost afraid to meet his eyes, to see what her son must think of her. "We're important to him, you and I," she says. "But Jehovah comes first and he's already pushed them too hard with everything else."

Alone in their motel room Alex frowns, wandering aimlessly over to the huge window overlooking the back garden. He cracked it partway open when he got up this morning, loving the fresh scent of the grass in the morning, and-- _Oh, shit_. Luke has led Yvonne out to sit on one of the garden benches, maybe a few meters away. Lingering by the window as he is, Alex can hear his mother-in-law sniffling through her tears.

Fucking fantastic.

Luke nods. It's not news, the way his father thinks, feels. He's known his entire life that Jehovah came before everything and everyone. His father's refusal to cast him out when he learned his son was gay, that had been the real surprise. "So what happens now?"

"He'll tell the elders we've shunned you," Yvonne says softly, weeping.

"And will you have?" It's awfully blunt given that his mum's sitting in front of him crying her heart out but he wants to know where they stand.

She nods. "Publicly, yes. He said I can still keep in touch with you but he won't have you here again."

He listens hard, but they're speaking so softly that Alex can't distinguish any of their words. Not that he really needs to hear them to decipher what's going on. Yvonne has come to see Luke, alone. She's crying. The expression Luke is wearing... Christ, he can only catch glimpses of his lover's face, but what Alex does see looks desolate. Resigned to a devastating blow.

Luke's tempted to point out how fucking two-faced that is and he would, if his father was here, but he's not. He's sent Luke's mum to do the dirty work. "He won't interfere with us seeing Nana and Gransha though? With them coming to meet us somewhere?"

"No, they're not Witnesses," Yvonne says quietly, the tears drying and the numbness setting in. "He's only concerned about our being in contact with you."

"Except that he's letting you still be in touch," Luke says bitterly.

"Yes, he is," Yvonne says, seizing on that fact. "He could demand I shun you completely. He has that right as my husband. He could... but he knows what that would do to me, and he's more confident Jehovah will forgive him than he is about the congregation."

"Okay." Luke doesn't see what else there is to say. "You can tell him you told me and I'll be in touch by email. You can decide whether you want to answer or not."

"Of course, I'll answer," Yvonne says, putting her hand on Luke's leg but he jerks it away. "Luke..."

"No, just -- leave me alone," he says. "I'll be fine and I love you but right now I am so mad at you both..."

Yvonne starts crying again, she can't help herself, great big hiccuping sobs and she wishes Luke would comfort her but he doesn't.

"We have to go see Nana and Gransha," he says instead, rising to his feet. "I'll email you from Sweden." A kiss dropped on her head before he heads back inside, his own tears trapped in his chest.

When Luke stands up, pain and tension radiating from him even at this distance, it's all Alex can do to keep from jumping out the fucking window and wrapping himself around his husband. As it is he stands and watches, hands stuffed in the pockets of his cargo shorts, every muscle taut with anger.

Luke strides through the pub, head down, ignoring the looks and the whispers. Oh, well, the gossip'll feed perfectly into his dad's story of shunning him. He runs back up the stairs, letting himself into their room and only has to look at Alex before he bursts into tears.

"Oh, god. Come here, baby." Before Luke has the chance to obey, however, Alex is already reaching out to pull him into a tight hug. _Damn them._

Luke can't help it. It's like everything he's ever pushed down about his parents comes to the fore and he sobs helplessly in his husband's arms. Getting it all out.

It panics Alex more than a little to see his lover so upset, but he knows damn well that it doesn't mean a thing, one way or the other -- his job remains the same. "Come here," he says quietly, stepping closer to the bed without letting go. He sits back against the headboard, and pulls Luke up to sit across his lap. "Tell me, _älskling_ ," he whispers, and hugs his lover even tighter to his chest. "Tell me anything you need to."

"They're going to shun me," Luke manages to get out, the words interrupted by hiccuping sobs. "My dad can't take being disfellowshipped. He says my mum can still be in contact but they won't see me again."

Alex freezes, stunned stupid. Yes of course, this is what David Evans has been warning them of all along. But Alex never actually _believed_ that the man would do something so flat-out moronic. "Oh, my god," he murmurs, forcing himself into action again and beginning to comb gentle fingers through Luke's hair. "He really...? Does he seriously not get that...?" He sighs and blinks back dampness from his eyes. "I'm so sorry, love. I'm so sorry that his thinking really is that fucked-up. He's making the mistake of his lifetime, and I bet he doesn't even know it."

Luke shakes his head. "I should be thankful," he says, sniffing inelegantly, more than a hint of bitterness in voice contrasting with his words. "They could have done this years ago."

"Yeah, right." Alex lays his head on Luke's shoulder, nestling into the vulnerable skin of his throat. "And that way, he and your mom could have been suffering all this time. How fucking arrogant is the Church, that the leaders think they can actually control the way the world works? Fucking idiots." He kisses the tender skin just beneath Luke's jaw. "Our child is going to have so much love. So many people loving them. It's a sad goddamn thing, but your parents are going to be hurt way more about this. Our kid will never even notice they're missing."

Luke nods. "I know. I just - I guess I didn't really think it would happen. They made it through all the other stuff."

"I didn't think it would happen, either. And you know them a ton better than I do," Alex murmurs, and kisses Luke's collar. "Your mum seemed pretty miserable, though. Was this all your dad's decision?"

Luke nods again. "She has to do what he says, but he could have decided she wasn't allowed to stay in touch with me at all." A mercy for which he'll be grateful once he gets over the shock.

And Alex has got more than a few choice words to say about _that_ paternalistic/misogynist bullshit, but he figures now is likely not a great time for it. "So that means she does plan to keep in contact with you, in spite of all the other stuff?"

"I can still email her," Luke says, the tears finally starting to tail off.

Alex trails his fingers over Luke's cheek, and the bleak look in his boy's eyes makes him want to run out into the street and start kicking random strangers in the head. Because that kind of violent anger would be so much easier to handle than seeing such heartache. "Did she say she plans to write back?"

Luke nods, pressing closer.

"Okay. Okay, that's... that's something." Alex glances aside at the digital clock on the nightstand, frowning. "Do you still want to meet up with your grandparents for lunch and all? Are they allowed to meet with us?"

Luke sits up, rubbing at his eyes. He glances at the clock and sighs. "We can't miss seeing them. Besides, my Nana's cooking and she never cooks for anyone these days."

Alex snorts a soft laugh. "It's because she's got such a huge crush on me. You know that." He pulls Luke down against him once more anyway. "We'll get through this," he whispers fiercely. "We have a strong marriage, and I'm completely devoted to you, and I mean it when I say that they'll be the ones who miss out in life. Not us." He puts two fingers beneath his boy's chin, forcing Luke to meet his eyes. "Your father seems really worried about going to hell someday. He doesn't get it that he's already making it happen now, by shutting you out."

Luke starts to tear up again. "At least this happened now, when I have you," he says softly, touching Alex's face. "I love you so much."

It's tricky logic, considering that if Luke had never met Alex, then he might not be in this situation now. But there's one thing that's absolutely unquestionable. "I love you, too," Alex whispers back. "Forever."


End file.
